I'm Still Talking and You're Not Listening
by Natsu-sama
Summary: Shi for Shi; nuf said...
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

I grew up in a small town with only one kid my age. That kid was Yu Kanda. We were the only children for a while and we got along fine. Then Sakura White had sextuplets and they were all male. Kanda took it upon himself to be big brother to the noobs and totally forgot about me. As the boy's grew older, they started to turn against females. So began the worst six years of my life.

Kanda and I were both born with Innocence. Unfortunately my Innocence was under-developed and Kanda decided to use that as his main teasing target. Everywhere I went, Kanda and his minions would be there, poking fun at me or physically hurting me.

Then my mother died. It was an extremely painful experience, but I got through it. Since Kanda's mom and my mom had been really close, I was moved to their household and lived there for three years.

Kanda and I fought daily, and every time the fights got worse and worse. Then one night, the chains restraining Kanda broke and he struck me so hard that he left a deep scar on my right cheek. He and I both left to become exorcists shortly after that.

We didn't see each other for two years after that. By that time I was eighteen and ready to take on any Akuma that came my way, but I was different. My short jet black hair was now electric blue and down to my ankles. Instead of the girly kimonos I used to wear I now wore a black tank top with a black hooded exorcist cloak. Knee-high black boots completed the outfit.

But one thing was still the same and would always remain the same; my sharp blue eyes. Anyone who knew me could tell it was me just by looking at my eyes.

But it's surprising how some people who haven't seen you in a while react to your eyes in a peculiar way. They don't recognize you at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

I sat back in my seat as the train that was taking me to the Black Order rocked back and forth. The slight swaying made me slightly dizzy. I rubbed my thumbs in circles on my temple as I tried to calm my wandering mind.

"Ai Kin?" a wondering voice asked the lady behind me. The lady pointed at me before turning over and going back to sleep.

The boy who had been looking for me cautiously came up towards me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Ah! You must be her! I'm Allen Walker and I'm supposed to be escorting Ai Kin to the Black Order. Are you her?" the boy asked. He had white hair that made him look years older and an eye with a scar over it leading up to an Akuma sign.

I nodded quietly and then gathered up my stuff and allowed him to sit next to me. Allen took the seat gladly. Then he laughed.

"Your hair kinda reminds me of Kanda's," he chuckled. I gripped the arm rest so hard that my knuckles turned white.

"Kanda? As in Yu Kanda?" I asked through clenched teeth. I had specifically requested that I not be sent to the same branch that Yu was at.

I bet he did that on purpose, I thought seething.

"Yeah," Allen said with a nod, "do you know him?"

"Vaguely," I replied, gritting my teeth.

"He and I don't really get along that much. He sort of hates me for being cursed," Allen said with a sigh.

I nodded and then shifted my gaze over towards the window. The trees rushing past were a blur of browns and greens.

Allen and I were quiet for the rest of the ride. At first I thought that it was because he was just shy. Then I realized that he was actually sleeping.

I rearranged myself so that I was comfortable and started to read my book. As the train turned a sharp corner, Allen's head fell lightly on my shoulder. I shuddered but ignored the strong urge to punch him.

Even though he seemed pretty nice, I still had a phobia of people of the male gender. All because of Kanda. Even he seemed pretty nice as a first impression.

When the train came to our stop, I woke up Allen, gathered up my stuff, and we exited the train.

The walk to the Black Order wasn't as long as I thought it would be. Allen kept us entertained by recalling some of his past missions and encounters; including many that involved Kanda.

"May I ask what your Innocence is?" Allen asked as he rowed through the underground tunnel. I looked at him with a slightly suspicious gaze before I told him.

"My Innocence turns itself into an Okibi Scythe. That is all," I replied.

The boat came to a stop and we were met by two people who took my stuff and told us to go see Komui as soon as possible.

"Who's Komui?" I asked Allen as we walked through the halls.

"He's the crazy head of the science department," Allen replied.

"He?" I asked with a shudder. Allen nodded.

When we entered Komui's room, my heart just about stopped.

"Ah! Hello! You're here! Kanda, I'll talk to you later. Right now I have to deal with our brand new exorcist… now Kanda! Leave!" a man cried from behind a desk under a mountain of papers and books.

Yu Kanda was sitting in front of the desk looking irritated. He got up and walked towards us. He glared at Allen and nodded at me. Then he stopped. He stared at my eyes for what felt like hours before shaking his head and walking away.

"Why did you stare at her eyes?" Allen asked. Kanda turned around and glared at him again.

"She looked like someone I knew, but it couldn't be because that someone was too incompetent to ever become an exorcist," he replied before stalking away.

Come in, come in!" Komui said happily. I walked into the room and sat down where Kanda had been sitting in.

"I take it you're Komui," I said simply.

"Yes I am," Komui exclaimed, throwing his arms around my neck.

I couldn't have decked him fast enough. A lump the size of Tokyo rose up on his forehead.

"Ow!" Komui whined, holding his head. That hurt! Allen, you didn't tell me she was mean!"

"She's not. You were in her space," Allen replied, shaking his head.

After a visit with Hevlaska, Komui let Allen and I go eat. Kanda was sitting in a corner being a loner again. Allen and I got our food and then went to sit down on the other side of the dining hall.

Everything was going normal (or as normal as it could go) until an unfortunate noob accidentally bumped into Kanda and made him spill his drink all over himself. Kanda stood up and glared at the newcomer. His hand started to slowly draw nearer and nearer to his Mugen.

I stood up and walked over to them without even thinking.

"Yu! Put that sword away right now or so help me I'll get your mother on you," I growled at him. Kanda dropped his sword and stared at me with wide eyes.

"A-Ai?" he said slowly. I just gave him my icy glare. Took the distraction time to make a quick get-away. As soon as he was gone, I turned, picked up my food, disposed of it, and then walked out of the dining hall.

Later on, I lay on my bed, tossing a stuffed animal that Yu had given me when we were both five. It was a small bunny wit a huge carrot in its mouth.

A knock on my door startled me and made me jump. I got up and cautiously opened my door a crack. Kanda stood outside looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Yes?" I asked flatly. I was not in the mood to have an argument at the moment.

"I have one question and one question only. Are you the Ai Kin that I grew up with?" Kanda asked, his eyes brimming with seriousness. I was silent for a while before I finally answered him.

"Yes," I said quietly before closing the door in his face.

I also wasn't in the mood for a crazy reunion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

I woke up in the morning with the sun in my face. It was going to be a long day.

"Good morning," Allen smiled warmly at me as we both got our breakfast.

"Morning," I mumbled. Thoughts ran through my mind at the speed of light and made it hard to concentrate. This, of course was a normal occurrence. Usually in the mornings my mind is off the wall with things to think about.

"You seem kind of distant," Allen wondered as we took our seats. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm alright. Sorry if I made you worry," I replied quietly.

As we sat down, the backs of our hands brushed against each other and I cringed. He may be nice, I thought, but he's still male and I don't trust males.

Our breakfast was pleasant enough and our conversations were light and carefree. When breakfast was over, we were called into Komui' room.

"Are you kidding me," I grumbled as we trudged towards the room.

"He's not that bad once you get used to him," Allen said with a laugh. "Although he can get extremely annoying at times."

I nodded as Allen opened the door and we stepped inside.

"Welcome back!" Komui cried, throwing his arms around my neck again. Dude didn't know how to take a hint. My second shot at his head connected cleanly and had a ton of force behind it. Allen shook his head.

"When are you going to learn that she doesn't like physical contact?" he asked with a sigh.

"I'm sending you on a mission," Komui said once the swelling went down. "There's a girl in town who's been acting strange and gaining the attention of our watchers. We're going to send you two and Kanda out to watch her. You'll be leaving as soon as possible."

Just then, Kanda entered the room. I stiffened. Allen looked toward me and his face turned from happy to worried.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Sweat droplets began to form on my forehead. The room began spinning and my knees buckled. I fell and was caught by Kanda.

When I awoke, I was laying in the back of a carriage. A cold compress was on my forehead and a blanket covered me.

"Hey, I think she's awake," Allen said, looking me square in the eye.

"Finally," a voice growled. It was Kanda.

I sat up and rubbed my temple, taking in my surroundings.

"Where are we?" I asked. It seemed like we were traveling.

"We're going to stay at a house a little bit away from where the girl we're supposed to be watching lives," Allen replied, "You're going to be replacing her old tutor."

My head was throbbing like there was no tomorrow, but I still managed to recall some things to memory.

"We're supposed to be watching that girl right?" I mumbled.

"Bingo," Kanda said in an annoyed tone.

"Shut it Yu," I growled. I threw off the blanket and began folding it. Unfortunately my skirt had been flipped up and I was totally exposed. Allen and Kanda looked wide-eyed and then hastily looked away. I quickly covered myself as the boys' faces went red. Allen made a nervous cough to try and help lighten the mood. It didn't work. If anything it just made the mood worse.

Finally the carriage stopped and all three of us got out. we thanked the driver before heading into the small house.

Conflict happened the moment we walked through the door.

"I refuse to sleep in the same room as bean-sprout!" Kanda yelled as we put our stuff down.

"You have to, Komui said so," Allen said, shaking his head. "You and I are supposed to share a room for tonight until Ai leaves."

"Fine, but you're sleeping on the floor," Kanda growled.

I rolled my eyes and just walked away. After closing the door to my room, I climbed into the shower and stayed there for a while. When I came out, I knew something was wrong. For one thing, my door was open. Another thing was that the sheets on my bed were messed up. I adjusted my towel and walked around my bed. On the other side was Kanda's bag. I bent over and began to look through it, just to make sure.

"Oh, geez! I did not want to see that!" Kanda's voice said from behind me. I screamed and straightened up, spinning around to find Kanda standing in my doorway, his face going red.

"What? What happened?" Allen asked, running to the room. One look at Kanda and I and Allen could tell what had happened. "Second time," he sighed, patting Kanda on the shoulder, "you're digging yourself into a deeper hole."

The guys left the room and I slammed the door shut. Then I went over to my bed, seething. why was he in my room in the first place?

Thinking of that, I looked over and saw that Kanda's stuff was still in my room. You know what, I thought, I'm going to go through your stuff to pay you back!

I changed quickly and then started sifting through his things. I found typical guy things, as well as many, many ribbons and hair ties. There were tissues, clothes(mostly pants ;P), boxers, and the occasional sock as well. But the thing that I found most surprising was a picture. A picture of me. and of him. Together. I stared at it for a long while, trying to comprehend why he would keep a picture like this for all these years.

Just then, a knock sounded on my door. I quickly stuffed all of Kanda's things back into his bag.

"What?" I demanded as I stumbled into bed.

"It's Allen. Can I have Kanda's stuff?" Allen asked from the other side of the door.

"Come in," I said, pulling out a book and starting to read. Allen came in, got the stuff, said good night, and then left.

I jumped up off of my bed and grabbed a jacket that I had stolen out of Kanda's bag. Then I curled up with it and slowly went to sleep. The last thing I remember was the cool metal of my locket against my skin.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

I awoke extremely early the next morning in a mound of sheets. I sat up and was immediately hit with a million thoughts. But before I could process them, my door opened.

"Oh, you're awake. I didn't think that anyone woke up as early as m… why do you have Kanda's jacket?" Allen rambled.

"Ssshhhh!" I sshhed, jumping up, covering his mouth with my hand, and closing the door with my foot.

"He's still asleep you know," Allen said once I let him go. I slumped to the floor in defeat. "But seriously, why do you have Kanda's jacket?"

I sighed, sat down on my bed, and began to explain.

"When Kanda and I were small and the only children in our village we made a vow. Kanda proposed to me under a cherry blossom tree. I remember that afterward he gave me a hug and he smelled so good. I was addicted to that smell. But shortly after he turned on me and our pact was shattered. But I'm still addicted to the smell, " I explained.

Allen sat back and thought this over. Finally he spoke.

"Kanda told some of your story last night, although I still can't understand why. his point of view was slightly different though. I think you two should talk it out. Regardless of whether you want to or not," Allen said.

I just rolled my eyes and pulled Kanda's jacket closer. The smell of Yu filled my nose and calmed me down.

"I know we'll have to talk eventually. Just not right now. I think we should just go ahead and stay the way we are," I sighed.

"Where's that incompetent fool of a girl?" Kanda said from inside the living room.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my knuckles went white, "Not that I ever wanted to make up with him anyway! I…I mean, he doesn't deserve me!"

With that I stood up and stormed into my bathroom. When I heard Allen exit close the door, I slowly slid down to the floor with my back to the door.

"No," I whispered, "it's I who don't deserve him."

I stood outside an enormous household and stared upward at the immense, massive door in front of me. I knocked on the door again and waited a while. Finally, it got through to me that no one was home and I walked to the next door neighbors house.

"Oh them? They went away for week's vacation. They'll be back in a week. Are you that girl's new tutor?" a maid asked when she answered the door.

"Yes," I said politely.

"Good riddance. Her old one was starting to scare me. she was a beautiful girl when she went in there you know. Now she's thin, lanky, and sickly. It's really a shame to see such youth wasted like that," the maid sighed.

"Yes, thank you ma'am," I said. I turned and walked back to the carriage where Allen and Kanda were waiting.

"She's not there?" Allen wondered as I climbed back in. I explained the situation and we headed toward our dysfunctional "home".

Once inside, I took my stuff back to "my" room and tossed Kanda's stuff out of it. Then I silently stalked past Kanda, smiled at Allen, and then began to prepare food for supper.

"Oh, you don't have to," Allen said with a smile. Kanda scoffed.

"She does if she's gonna be staying here," he growled. I turned around and threw a can of soup at him. He ducked but was unprepared for the second and third cans and was conked twice. After I saw that I had hit my target, I turned back to my cooking, humming all the way. Allen just stood there looking flabbergasted.

I used swift movements when preparing the food and felt as light as a feather. I really enjoyed cooking, especially when I got to use some of my favorite foods. And I must say, my cooking was phenomenal.

Once dinner was ready, Allen began to help me set the table and continued to sulk in a corner.

"Quit being a baby," I scolded once when I passed him. The angry stress marks could be seen for miles. "Pfft," I pffted at him in desperation. "You're acting just like Tamaki!"

After the food was served, Kanda finally decided to join the land of the living.

"So nice of you to join us," I fake smiled at him, plopping his plate down before him.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Arigato Kin-san," Allen said politely. I smiled at him, feeling extremely pleased with myself.

The meal was delicious. Every tiny bit of food was cooked to perfection, even down to the last crumb. The male and ½ male enjoyed the food as well, although the ½ male tried to hide it.

When the food was put away and the dishes clan, we all retreated to our sleeping quarters. I pulled Kanda's jacket out from under my bed and held it close. The smell was as intoxicating as crack cocaine and made my head spin a hundred miles an hour. The soft fabric of his jacket kissed my fingers lightly with a gentle caress.

But something was wrong. At first I couldn't really place it, but then I knew exactly what was wrong. The smell of Kanda was slowly receding from his jacket.

I need to find some way to get my hands on another jacket, I thought as I rapidly made up a plan in my head.

I got up from my bed, went out and crossed the living room, and knocked on the boys' door.

"Come in," I heard the muffled sound of Allen's voice. When I walked in, both guys were shirtless and had soaking wet hair. Allen was standing by his bed towel drying his hair while Kanda sat on his bed with his hair laid out everywhere.

"Kanda! You're getting everything wet!" Allen complained.

"I don't care, it's on my side of the room. As long as you stay over there and stop complaining we wont have any problems," Kanda said in a bored tone.

"Um," I said nervously, "do you want me to come back?"

"No, it's fine. Did you need something?" Allen said with a smile.

"Um, I wanted to return this jacket to Kanda. I found it under my bed," I told them.

Allen smiled and winked at me before turning around and looking at Kanda with a confused look. Kanda jumped off his bed and walked over towards me. I expected him to snatch the jacket from me, and then went back to his be. I walked out of the room feeling slightly confused and even more worried. What did this mean? was this a change in our relationship? What was going to happen next?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

"Have you completed your mission?" a raspy voice crackled through the phone receiver.

"Not yet. They still hate each other's guts. Just give me a few more days and the mission will be complete," a recognizable voice said.

"Alright, I'll give you an extra week. But hurry Allen. The other mission won't wait for them," the raspy voice replied. The two exchanged good-byes and hung up.

"Well then," Allen sighed, "I guess I'll have to take it up a notch."

I woke up feeling extremely strange. The feeling didn't go away no matter how much I willed it to. Finally, I sat up and looked at my surroundings, and there it was. The strangeness of Kanda's bags and katana in my room was enough to make me uneasy. But the sight of Kanda himself lying right next to me was enough to send me into cardiac arrest.

I placed my hand upon my pounding heart and looked at Kanda. He looked really… sexy with his hair spread out all around him. Some of my electric blue hair was tangled in his. They were amazingly the same exact color. I smiled and brushed a hair away from his face.

And then I noticed it. Kanda's warm scent was drifting all around the room and filling my nose to the point of explosion.

Suddenly, I snapped up. Dizziness settled in over me and my breathing quickened. As the world went black, I saw Kanda's eyes start to open.

My head buzzed with an intensity of a thousand stampeding elephants as I let out a slow groan and rubbed my head.

How are you feeling?" Kanda's voice asked from somewhere. I nodded and sat up. My head spun and little, but it wasn't enough for me to pass out again. Kanda came over, sat on the bed next to me, and felt my forehead. "You were burning up earlier. Kinda scared me a little."

"Sorry," I mumbled. Just them there was a knock on the door.

"How's she doing?" Allen's voice called.

"She's better, now let us out!" Kanda yelled, jumping up and going to the door.

"No. I have direct orders from Komui to make sure that you two start getting along. So until you do that, you're stuck as is," Allen called happily before skipping away.

"What's going on?" I asked as I got up. The room spun a little and Kanda had to catch me. His chest was so warm… and yet so scary. I pushed Kanda away, ran into the bathroom, and threw up.

"Allen's locked us in your room until we get along. Are you okay? You look really pale," Kanda asked, kneeling behind me.

"Too close," I croaked, "way too close."

Kanda backed away as I threw up again. When I was finished, I crawled out of the bathroom and back into bed. Silence filled the room and floated down and around our heads in a heap of awkwardness. Finally Kanda spoke.

"Did I do something?" he asked with a very confused and hurt look. I looked at him for a second wondering what he was talking about. Then it hit me.

"Yes. Ten years ago when you joined up with those boys. You hurt me more than you will ever know and you planted a seed of fear in my heart. Fear of men, of boys, of people of the male gender. If there's too many in one room I panic and pass out. That's the way I am. And you made me that way. I'm going to sleep now so wake me up when food arrives."

I had the worst dream in the history of dreams. Someone kept coming and killing Kanda over and over again. Crimson blood stained the inside of my eyelids as the person I cared most about died again and again. I woke up screaming.

Kanda, who had been sleeping next to me sat up and looked at me with a mixture of confusion and fear.

"What happened? What's wrong?" he asked in alarm.

"Nothing," I said with a deep exhale. Then I laid my head down on Kanda's shoulder. Kanda brought his hand up to my head and began to run his long fingers through it. I looked down and saw that we both had a free hand. Shaking slightly, I put my hand on his. I could feel the warmth of the blood rushing to Kanda's face as it went red. And to tell you the truth, it felt extremely nice.

"Are you still scared?" Kanda asked me after a little while. I shook my head. "Then you wouldn't mind if I did this…"

Kanda took my chin in his hand and brought my lips up towards his. It was a sweet as honey kiss that shot fireworks in and out of my heart. I closed my eyes and slowly savored every moment of the heavenly kiss. Stars danced on the inside of my eyelids and I knew at once that I was in love.

"Aw, that was sweet," Allen said from the other side of the door. "That didn't take long. Now was that so hard?"

For the next four hours the only thing Allen could do was run. I'm sure we looked funny running down the street with our weapons drawn, but it was totally worth it.

It felt good just to be laying down in my bed back at the Order. Turns out the "mission" was just a set up to try and get Kanda and I to get along. Still, it was fun.

Kanda and I would be leaving on a real mission in thirteen hours and we were getting our rest and our things together for the trip. Since we would be in cold weather for the next month, I decided to sew extra layers onto the pants that I was taking.

So there I was sewing away when a knock came on my door.

"Who is it?" I called cheerily as I sewed my last stitch.

"Lenalee," came the reply.

"Come in," I said as I put my last pair of pants in my suitcase and closed it. Lenalee entered my room and sat down on my bed. "So what's on your mind?" I asked her with interest.

"I…I…I think I'm in love," Lenalee whispered quietly.

"With who? With Allen? Cause if so, I think Kanda-san has her eye on him for the duration of her visit," I volunteered.

"No, it's not him. I think I'm in love with…"

A sharp, loud, hard knocking sound on my door interrupted her in the middle of her sentence. I could recognize that knock anywhere.

"What?" I shouted, irritated.

"Come on. Our train is going to leave us if you don't hurry your sorry butt up!" Kanda yelled at the door.

"I'm coming you big klutz! Hold your freakin' horses and get a life. Don't you have any other things to do besides bother me?" I shouted out as I jumped up and began gathering my things. Lenalee stood up and helped me with my stuff. Then I opened the door and we all walked down to the underground tunnel.

"Did you still want to talk to me? I have a few minutes," I said looking over at Lenalee.

"More like seconds," Kanda mumbled.

"Shut up!" I said, throwing a candlestick over my shoulder and hitting Kanda square in the middle of the forehead.

"No, it's okay," Lenalee smiled, "I'll talk to you as soon as you get back! Have a safe trip."

I waved happily as the boat drifted away from the platform. We continued waving until she was just a speck. Then she disappeared into darkness.

I sat back in the boat and settled myself for the short ride to town. As we drifted, I felt the gentle rocking of the boat and heard the soft slapping of water. The boat carried us farther and farther away from home and closer and closer towards danger. But it didn't faze me, nor did it scare me. For I had someone who would protect me staying very close by and being always at my side.

The train ride was slow and noisy. Out seats were unfortunately in front of a family of six and the children pretty much refused to stop crying. I glanced over at Kanda and saw that he was beyond irritated. I sat back in my seat and sighed. Then I got and idea. I reached over and started to play with Kanda's hair. At first, his hand twitched toward his katana. Then he looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back and stuck my tongue out at him.

The happy moment set the tone for the rest of our train ride. At one point, I was asleep on Kanda's shoulder, at another he was asleep with his head in my lap. On other occasions we would both be asleep, holding hands between the seats.

We had to switch trains twice; once at Burlington Village and again at Toshiba before we reached our next stop.

We walked for miles on end through snow and through slush. Through hard and biting winds that stung at your cheeks and nipped at your nose harshly. I pulled my hood closed over my face to try and keep the cold out. Up ahead, Kanda walked briskly to keep from freezing to death. I jogged to keep up with him and also to keep warm. Wet snow fell all over and around us. I glanced behind myself and found that footprints made not long ago were gone, covered by a thick blanket of snow.

Finally a light shone in the far distance and showed us that we were going in the right direction. I caught up with Kanda who put his arm around my waist and helped me along.

"Almost there," he shouted over the rushing wind. An eerie howl filled the air and made that hair on the back of my neck stand up. Kanda's arm wrapped tighter around my waist and our footsteps quickened. Within seconds we were at a small cabin; the source of the light. The door burst open and a middle-aged woman stood in the entrance to the cabin. She hurriedly bid us good day and hurried us inside.

"Wow it's cold! I can't believe you walked all this way! But then again, you exorcists will do anything to recover Innocence. We can always count on you guys! Wow, you two seem really close. Are you a couple?" the woman rambled.

"NO!" Kanda and I both shouted immediately. Our eyes drifted down to Kanda's arm around my waist and we scooted away from each other hurriedly. "I hate his/her guts!" we shouted in unison.

"Well, well. This should be an interesting visit. Well you'll be staying with me for two days or until this storm subsides. You can't possibly continue on in this weather. No matter how much you think you can take, I will not allow mere children to brave this storm. How old are you two? You look to be around the same age," the lady could talk for hours!

"I'm 18," Kanda said.

"I'm almost 18," I said.

"Well that's mighty nice. Both around the same age. That's absolutely splendid! Well, are you two hungry? I have some stew in the fireplace. I finished cooking it about an hour ago. Would you like me to prepare it for you? Oh, what am I thinking, of course you do. Here, why don't you get changed into some warm clothes and I'll get you some food."

Kanda and I grabbed our bags and took them to the rooms we would be staying in. We changed clothes before coming back out into the living room.

"Her you go," the lady said. "My name's Hakura by the way."

"Arigato," I whispered as I slowly started to inhale my food. The stew warmed my insides and made the cold, wet weather seem less cold and wet. I felt warm and refreshed again. As I ate spoonful after spoonful, I noticed Kanda eating his stew slowly with an interesting look on his face.

"What?" he whispered when he noticed me staring.

"What's with the look?" I whispered back. Kanda looked off to the distance and thought for a while. Finally he spoke.

"When we were young and I proposed to you that day, did you take it seriously? Or did you just think of it as a silly game?" he asked. I looked at him for a bit before replying.

"Has this been bothering you?" I asked.

"Well, when you gave me back my jacket I noticed that it was devoured by your smell. Then I thought of that day and how you smelled so good and I started to wonder what you thought. So what did you think?" Kanda said quietly. I smiled.

"I believed it for a while. At least until you turned against me. I was probably the happiest girl in the world for a while after that. But then my dreams were shattered and I was excluded from the group. I hurt, but I got by," I sighed. Kanda nodded slowly and we finished our dinner in silence.

After the stew was finished Kanda and I helped clean up and then we all retreated to our cots.

The cold wind rattled the window panes and howled loudly in our ears. My breath was visible every time I blew out a breath. I looked over next to me and saw Kanda's covers slowly rising up and down. For some reason, Kanda's breathing soother me.

I went to sleep knowing that the one I loved was right next to me.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

It took three days for the winds and snow to die down. By the time it became time to leave, Kanda and I were itching to get out of that cabin. That lady could and would talk your ear off if allowed. She constantly commented on the fact that Kanda and I had the same hair color, would give each other silent messages, and would share small kisses every now and again. She could not get it out of her head and constantly accused Kanda and I of being a couple.

But we weren't. Even though we got along even more than we used to, we still hated each other's guts. Although here were times when we couldn't stand to be apart, there were also times when we couldn't stand to be together.

The latter event happened on the day we were supposed to leave. The morning started off completely wrong.

"Rise and shine you wonderful dears! It's time for you two to pack up your things and go looking for tat Innocence thing. Come on, come on, com-"

"Shut up please!" I yelled at Hakura. Kanda and I slowly crawled out of bed and got dressed. Everything was going normally until breakfast time. As we ate Kanda accidently spilled scalding hot water on me twice, made a pancake fall on my head, and squirted syrup on my face six times. By the time breakfast was over, I was in an extremely grumpy mood. Every time Kanda tried to apologize, my blood pressure would rise and I would find myself having to go outside for fresh, cold air.

Finally, it was time to go. We gathered our things and, after saying good-bye to Hakura, set off on our journey to find the Innocence.

The snow wasn't as deep as it had been that first day, but it was still pretty deep. We walked for hours on end, not stopping once for a break. After a while a strong wind began to blow and we were forced to stop to put on warmer clothes. As I changed behind a clump of bushes, I suddenly heard a loud rustling sound.

"Who's there?"I called out, wrapping my shirt around my chest.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Is this the sound village?" a short, ugly looking blonde guy said, looking around.

"No, this is not the "sound village". What business do you have being here? Especially when I'm changing!" I yelled, taking my Innocence in hand and preparing to swing.

"Dimension changing jutsu!" the Uzumaki kid shouted, making hand signs and disappearing just as my Innocence reached where he once stood. I sighed and finished putting on my clothes.

"What took you so long?" Kanda complained when I finally emerged. He was next to a manmade fire heating up some leftover stew.

"You don't want to know," I shuddered. Kanda just shrugged and went back to stirring the stew. I put my stuff down and started to prepare our drinks. "I'm going down to the river to refill our canteens. I'll be back within five minutes.

Kanda didn't answer and I didn't expect him to. I walked a little ways until I reached the stream. I slowly started to fill both of our canteens. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang.

"Uzumaki?!" I shouted, whipping around and staring into the darkness.

"What? Naruto's been here? I have to work on my pinpointing more!" an angry voice shouted.

"Name's Sasuke Uchiha. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find Uzumaki," the voice said. And with that he was gone. I went back to filling up the canteens.

"What the freak anime were they from?" I mumbled.

I arrived back at our campfire and joined Kanda on a fallen log. Suddenly, a loud bang sounded from inside the trees Kanda jumped up, pulled out Mugen, and jumped in front of me.

"Which is it?" I cried jumping up, "Uzumaki or Uchiha?"

"How do you know my name?" a gruff voice asked. A shortish guy in a large cloak covered in red clouds came out of the brush. He had longish black hair and a scratched through headband. But the most striking feature about him was the shining red eyes that barely escaped his hair.

"You're not Uchiha-kun," I said slowly.

"I am Uchiha Itachi. You must have met my stupid little brother Sasuke. That imbecile! Going into the wrong anime!" the red-eyed dude seethed.

"But didn't you do the exact same thing?" I asked in a bored tone. A large arrow came out of the sky and stabbed Itachi right in the heart.

"What business do you have with Ai?" Kanda demanded.

"Deidara said that he spied this girl when he popped into the wrong anime. Sadly to say he fell madly in love. He took a picture of her and brought it back to us. The rest of us guys kinda fell for her as wall, so Kisame and I were sent to go find her and you just so happened to be her," Itachi said.

"So then you're in the right anime… but your friend is in the wrong one. What kind of a messed up group are you in?" Kanda said. Another arrow came crashing down and stabbed Itachi in the back.

"You know what, just come on quietly so that I can go find Kisame," Itachi sighed. He took a step forward, but Kanda blocked his path.

"She's not going anywhere with you," Kanda growled. Itachi looked at him for a minute before falling to the ground.

"Aaahh! You've defeated me! Don't worry, I'll be back!" Itachi cried before disappearing into a puff of smoke. Kanda and I looked at each other before packing up our stuff and heading out to continue our journey.

We walked for three more hours until we reached an abandoned temple. The wind suddenly became frigid and began to sting at our cheeks.

"It's here," Kanda whispered quietly, taking my hand in his. I nodded and cherished the warmth of his strong hands protected by his bulky mittens.

As we got closer to the temple, the wind blew stronger and stronger; almost as if it was pushing us away. But we kept going. We were there for the Innocence and nothing else.

A small silhouette stood on the horizon and watched us closely. Kanda and I both pulled out our Innocence and approached the silhouette slowly.

I knew it was an Akuma almost immediately. But something wasn't right. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me. Why would one Akuma be near an Innocence?

"There's more!"Kanda suddenly shouted as a loud rumbling filled the air. At least a dozen Akuma came rushing through the air towards us at top speed. Kanda turned to run the other way and was stopped by the other Akuma. Kanda let out a stream of curse words and activated his Innocence. I followed suit.

The impact of the Akuma's bullets hurt my shoulders and my hands. I swung my Scythe and a blast of fire shot out of it and took out two Akuma. I couldn't see what Kanda was doing, but the number of Akuma had decreased greatly. I swung my Scythe again and took out another Akuma.

Suddenly someone cried out behind me. Thinking it was Kanda, I turned around and forgot the Akuma behind me. In the next instant, something extremely sharp and heavy shot past me and nicked me in the side. The snow below me began to change color from a pure white to a crimson red. Quick as a wink, I pulled off my scarf and wrapped it around the wound. Even though it hurt to move, I picked up my Scythe and prepared to fight again.

"One more!"Kanda shouted from somewhere off to the side. I swung my Scythe at the same time Kanda swung Mugen and the Akuma exploded when our attacks reached it. Bits and pieces fluttered down and scattered all over the snow. Kanda made his way over tome. He froze when he saw the snow and my once white, now red scarf. The last thing I remember was Kanda running towards me and the sweet smell of Kanda blending in with the snow.

Then the world went black.


	7. Chapter 7

So here's chapter 6!! :D I've become better at updating this story!(Are you happy Shi? ;D) Anyway,so here's the deal with "THOTRB"... I started chapter 2 about 3 days ago and was going to continue editing and typing it up today, but I found that the first page of Chapter 2 is missing!! So now I have to start all over again! Grr, oh well. Enjoy this chapter and the next one shall be coming VERY soon so be on the lookout! ;). Until next time!

P.S.- If you haven't noticed already, the Naruto cross-over has begun!! Meet the infamous trio, Kakashi, and the Akatsuki!!

* * *

Chapter 6

Kanda sat on a chair beside a bed. On the bed was the one person who could make Kanda cry. She hadn't woken up in seven days and counting. Not only did she get cut and lose a lot of blood, but she also caught pneumonia from the snow and the cold. She was me.

"Kanda, you've been sitting here for a week now. You need to eat something," Komui said quietly. He put his hand on Kanda's shoulder and was surprised when Kanda didn't shrug it off.

"Will you watch her for me?" Kanda asked in a voice hoarse from crying.

"You got it," Komui smiled. Kanda stood and walked to the door. He took one last glace at me before silently closing the door behind him.

Komui sat there for awhile, wondering whether or not he should have sent only two people on this mission.

"I'm sorry," Komui whispered.

"You should be," a gruff voice said from behind Komui. Komui turned around quickly and found Itachi standing there looking fierce.

"W-who are you?" Komui demanded.

"I want the girl," Itachi growled. Komui's face went from flushed to pale in .0027 seconds. His eyes rolled towards the back of his head and he passed out.

"Well that was easy," a blue shark-man said stepping out from the shadows, "I didn't even have to come out and scare him half to death."

* * *

Kanda came back to the room where I was. Or at least where I was supposed to be. When he entered the room, the first thing he noticed was the fact that I was gone. The next thing he noticed was that Komui was passed out on the floor.

"Komui! What happened? Where's Ai?"Kanda shouted, shaking Komui awake.

"A guy with red eyes came an-" Komui started.

"-and you protected her but they were too strong for you and you were defeated?" Kanda added, squeezing the life out of Komui's arm. Komui, seeing that he had to make a decision, decided to go with safer choice.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened," he said, "they defeated me, but I fought back bravely!"

"I understand," Kanda said before taking off and running out of the building.

"Who did she call out for the other day?" Kanda asked aloud, "does it Uzumaki and Uchiha?"

A loud crack sounded and a pink-haired girl fell from the sky and came crashing down to earth.

"Which one are you? Uzumaki or Uchiha?" Kanda demanded

"I'm neither," the girl said, standing up and brushing herself off. "My name's Sakura, that's all you need to know."

"Do you know where Itachi is?" Kanda asked hurriedly.

"I don't know his exact location, but I can show you the general location," Sakura said in a bored tone. Sakura turned around and punched the air. A bright flash erupted in the atmosphere and Sakura lunged for Kanda's hand.

"Hold on!" she cried as a gigantic force pulled them into a black-hole-like substance.

The world spun and spun around Kanda and his new companion. Sights and sounds whizzed past and millions of animes could be seen for miles.

"Here we are," Sakura said, soaring into a strange looking anime. The two landed softly and the ground before Sakura took off running.

"Hey! Wait up!"Kanda called after her.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Come out of there! Itachi's gone and done something evil again!"Sakura yelled , barging into a random house.

After Sakura finished explaining the situation, Naruto and Sasuke were eager to help.

"She was a nice girl. I wonder what the Akatsuki would want wither," Naruto wondered.

"Knowing my brother, it's either lethal or perverted," Sasuke sighed.

"I'll go get Kakashi," Sasuke said, starting to go outside.

"No!"Naruto yelled. "We can do this on our own without him scolding us!"

"But…" Sakura started.

"He's right," Sasuke interrupted, "besides, if we tell him we might be told to stay here."

What kind of freak anime is this? Kanda thought. This is beyond freaky

"Well then, let's go!" Naruto cried, leaping for joy. And so the four of them took off in search of the Akatsuki.

Meanwhile, near the border of Fire Country, was the Akatsuki. They were all gathered in a room surrounding a bed with me on it. At least all the guys were.

"Seriously, I don't see what you guys see in her," Konan sighed, twirling her fingers.

"Shut up wench!" Pein cried, chucking a glass vase at her. The vase missed her by an inch and shattered against a nearby wall.

"Fine, if that's the way you're going to be then I'm leaving!" Konan shouted. Then she stripped off her cloak, threw it down, and stormed out.

All the guys stared from the door to the cloak on the floor. Hidan walked over to the cloak, picked it up, and brought it back to the bed. Glances were exchanged and nods were made before Hidan placed the cloak over me. Cheers filled the room and could be heard for miles.

* * *

"This mud is really thick," Naruto complained as the group of four trudged through a swamp. "How much longer are we going to torture ourselves?"

"We're almost there," Sasuke said. Kanda followed close behind the trio, not wanting to get lost. No matter how hard he tried concentrating on moving forward, he couldn't keep his mind off of me.

"We're here!" Naruto cried jumping over the border into Fire Country. Immediately the group took off at a run, running faster and faster towards a distant shadow.

Suddenly they stopped. They couldn't move. They were surrounded.

* * *

"W-where am I?" I asked in a sleepy voice. Eight squeals were heard from somewhere around the room. I looked over to the side to find Itachi and seven other guys wearing the same cloak staring at me.

"You're one of us now," they all said in unison.

"I'm on of what?" I asked. My head spun a little and my vision blurred. I held my head to steady it.

"Are you okay?" a guy with orange hair and a ton of piercings asked me. I nodded as I rubbed my temple.

"Who are you people?" I asked. One by one they introduced themselves to me. After the introductions were made we sort of sat there for a little while, staring at each other.

"So what's your name?" Sasori asked after awhile of silence.

"Ai Kin," I yawned.

"You slept for a long time ," Deidara said.

"Well I did lose a lot of blood," I stated.

Just then, a loud rumbling came from outside. Pein opened a window and everyone gasped. Outside was an army of Fire Country citizens storming towards the Akatsuki's headquarters. And at the front of the stampede was Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kanda, running just as hard.

"Kanda?" I questioned aloud. I pulled the Akatsuki's cloak tighter around myself and went outside.

The sight was absolutely astonishing. We were surrounded in every possible angle.

"Give Ai-san back or we'll overtake you completely!" Uzumaki-kun yelled. The Akatsuki lined up behind me and stared at the large mass of people.

"Aahhh! You've defeated us," they yelled suddenly, falling to the ground. I covered my face with my hands.

"Even though we surrendered, she's still one of us! She's on our side!"Kisame yelled at the crowd.

"Well actually we're more on her side," Tobi said.

"Shut up!" the rest of the Akatsuki shouted at Tobi.

"Well, I guess I'm leaving now," I said, walking towards Kanda. Kanda walked towards me and hugged me tightly. It was the tightest, warmest hug I'd ever had in my entire life. I couldn't help it. I threw up.

"Oh! That's gross!" Kanda cried.

"You hugged me too tightly!" I said, wiping my mouth.

Out of nowhere, a puff of white smoke appeared and a tall guy showed up in the smoke.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all said in unison.

"I thought something was going on when I saw that the entire city was deserted. What do you three think you're doing?" "Kakashi-sensei" said.

"N-nothing," Naruto said backing up as Kakashi-sensei took a step forward.

"Obviously you've been doing something. I mean, why else would an entire country be out here with you?" Kakashi-sensei said.

"S-s-seriously Kakashi-sensei, we didn't do nothin' at all," Naruto whimpered. It was clear that he was scared out of his mind.

"Maybe we should leave," Kanda whispered to me. I nodded and together we stepped into a random open portal and traveled through the anime abyss.

Somehow we made it back to our anime and back to Komui who was proudly demonstrating his epic battle with Itachi.

"But Itachi didn't have any scratches, bruises, or scars. And my room doesn't look like any fight was held there. Are you sure you're not just lying to cover up for the fact that you didn't protect me at all," I said blankly.

"No…no, I really did try to protect you. It just didn't turn out the way I wanted," Komui whined.

A little afterwards, we made our way back to the Black Order. On the train, Kanda and I fell asleep. As Komui passed by us, he couldn't help but smile.

"She's the only one who can make him look so peaceful," he smiled.


End file.
